Hobsons Research Reveals the Views of International Students on
Brexit, Trump, and the Importance of ‘Welcoming’ Campaigns

April 27, 2017 05:17 AM Eastern Time

LONDON--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--A unique survey of more than 62,000 prospective international students,
27,955 of whom were considering studying in the UK, recommends that UK
universities must continue to build on the success of campaigns that
promote the UK as a welcoming destination for international students.
The ‘Welcoming
the World: Maintaining the UK’s status as a top global study destination’
report by Hobsons, the student recruitment and retention solutions
company, launched today (27 April 2017). The report argues that while
strategic challenges for UK higher education remain following the vote
to leave the EU last year, efforts by universities and campaign groups
to promote the UK as a welcoming destination for international students
are having a positive effect. The fifth annual International Student
Survey (ISS http://www.internationalstudentsurvey.com/2017/)
by Hobsons – the largest of its kind – surveyed students from 196
countries who plan to study abroad.

Maintaining the UK’s status as a top global study
destination

UK institutions must continue to demonstrate the economic and social
value of international student recruitment by successfully adopting a
strategic, welcoming approach.

This year’s research found that 68.5% of respondents said the decision
to leave the European Union had made no difference in their decision
to study in the UK.

12.7% said they were less interested in studying in the UK as a result
of the EU referendum, while 11.3% said it made them more interested in
studying in the UK.

While the results of this year’s ISS present a more optimistic picture
of the impact of Brexit on UK higher education, the sector must still
overcome challenges in order to reassure international students that the
UK remains a welcoming place:

The degree to which a place feels welcoming is one of the most
important factors influencing prospective students’ choice of a
university town or city, with 31% citing it as the most important
consideration. Being a welcoming place is ranked above quality of
teaching, which 25% choose as their most important consideration.

84% of respondents said that campaigns like #WeAreInternational and
#LondonIsOpen positively persuaded them that the UK is welcoming.

Furthermore, the UK higher education sector must learn from – and react
to – the impact that President Donald Trump is having on the US higher
education sector. Early indications suggest that Trump’s proposed travel
ban on the nationals of six countries had a negative impact on
international student perceptions of the US. However, this potential
benefit for the UK will only be realised if the sector can project a
strong, positive, and welcoming message to international students.

22% of prospective international students reported that they were
reconsidering their decision to study in the US.

59% of these students said that the UK is now comparatively more
attractive compared to the US as a destination for international
students.

Jeremy Cooper, Managing Director of Hobsons EMEA, said: “While the
results of this year’s ISS present a more optimistic picture, UK
universities must continue to build on the success of campaigns that
show international students are accepted and appreciated in the UK.
Campaigns like #WeAreInternational and #LondonIsOpen are having a
positive effect in helping international students perceive the UK to be
welcoming. We believe that more can be done by universities, and by all
of us with an interest in UK higher education. By adopting the
recommendations from this report – from those on social media to those
on responding to rankings – universities can achieve success and
maintain the UK’s global leadership in higher education.”

Teaching quality and the Teaching Excellence
Framework

Findings from this year’s ISS show that there are many factors besides
rankings that influence international student perceptions of quality.
The research suggests that measures of student satisfaction and teaching
quality can have equal or greater influence than institutional or
subject rankings.

69% strongly agreed that a university having highly qualified teaching
staff was an important indicator, while 22% somewhat agreed, making
this the strongest single indicator. The second strongest indicator
was high graduate employment rates, with 52% strongly agreeing and 29%
somewhat agreeing.

When asked to say whether they would be more likely to attend a
university with a high ranking, or one with excellent teaching
quality, 80% suggested that they would choose a university with
excellent teaching quality.

Given the extent to which the perception of these factors are within the
control of universities compared to rankings, this could be encouraging
news for universities that perform less well in the league tables.
Hobsons’ findings suggest that there is much that lower-ranked
institutions can do to increase their appeal to international students.

1. Hobsons helps students identify their strengths, explore careers,
create academic plans, match to best-fit educational opportunities, and
finish what they start. Through our solutions, we enable thousands of
educational institutions to improve post-secondary and career planning,
admissions and enrolment management, student success and advising for
millions of students around the globe.

2. The International Student Survey 2017 was conducted by Hobsons in
January and February 2017. Respondents to the survey answered a total of
79 questions, generating a combined total of more than 5 million data
points. This report focuses on the responses of 27,955 prospective
international students who identified that they were considering
studying in the UK.

3. Hobsons partnered with 65 universities from around the world to
survey their prospective student database. The survey sampled 62,366
prospective international students globally, with 196 nationalities
represented.

4. The size of the data set along with the number and quality of the
responses has enabled very robust student segmentation and insight into
the influences of international student’s decision-making processes, how
they engage with universities, and what they expect from universities in
the lead up to making their final decision.